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Chapter 18: Woodward vs. Merlin

"VIVIAN!"

Merlin's scream was so loud that the sound barrier of the area was broken as if it were nothing but a fragile vase. The windows and the walls crumbled at the sheer force of the wizard's volume and the earth shook as if it was going to break in half.

Akko, who was currently only a head, was starting to sweat and her teeth chattered. But Woodward remained calm— even in the face of one of the most powerful magical beings in the entire world.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE TO ME AGAIN! AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

The long and messy white hair of Merlin started to float up and become wavy. The eyes of the wizard turned pitch black and he opened his large mouth to reveal rows upon rows of sharp fangs. And down his throat seemed to be an endless void and an eerie echo that only let out the sound of death escape.

Gravity rejected the abnormal old vampire as he started to flow to the ceiling of the mansion. He waved his hands in the air and began a long chant in the Luna Language. His voice sounded as if he was repeating the words of a song and a hundred others sang with him. A dime blue dome then surrounded the nearly destroyed mansion, entrapping Woodward and Akko from going any further.

"This barrier is huge!"

Akko said aloud, completely amazed by the sheer magical power of Merlin.

Woodward nodded.

"Indeed, it seems as if there will be no way we can escape without getting our hands dirty…"

"H-hey lady?" Akko spoke up. "Be careful! This guy is dangerous! And he also has a weird spell where he can take away your emotions and free will—"

"I know very well of what Fantasia is capable of Atsuko Kagari," Woodward replied. "But rest assured that such a curse will not affect me. After all, I am nothing but the spirit of an already deceased woman."

"That is correct!"

The voice of Merlin rang out throughout the entire mansion. Woodward looked at the erratic wizard who was still flying in the air.

"Your life has already passed on! The only thing I regret— is that I did not kill you myself! However, I am glad that Annabella did it for me!"

Woodward narrowed her eyes at the old wizard, finally showcasing some sort of emotion.

"The reason she carried on such a sinful act was because of your deception. Do you have no shame? Manipulating your own daughter to commit murder in your name?"

"That would have never come to pass if you did not betray me!"

Merlin then held out his hand and the Fantasia Staff came to him. As the staff entered his palm, one of the gems began to glow with a bright blue light.

"Oh! Fantasia— Hear my call! Bring Upon Me the Power to Enact the Sinners of the Earth! Make me end the misery of All! Fantasia Melody — Act Three: The Symphony of Redemption! Redime Amissos Animas!"

The entire staff was then encompassed in the light and then a second later it was in a new form. It was a spear, long and terrible with many frills and runes surrounding the pass. The blade was transparent and made up of the stars of space. Oozing from the spear itself was magical energy that seemed to corrode the very atmosphere— if any normal human was present they would have fainted from the lack of oxygen.

"YIKES!" Akko shrieked, she could feel the boundless magical energy seeping through the weapon. "THAT IS CRAZY! WE'RE GONNA DIE! AND I'M GONNA DIE WITHOUT MY BODY! THIS SUCKS!"

"Have no fear, Atsuko Kagari."

Akko looked up at Woodward was releasing a bright green aura from her spiritual vessel.

"We will escape."

The howl of Merlin matched the fierceness of a lion that found its prey. He aimed the spear at the sky and a red beam was fired into the air. As the red beam hit the sky, a giant orange and yellow magical circle was conjured— covering the very sky. The sun, clouds, and anything else in the air could not be seen. And with the loud sound of a trumpet, over a hundred flaming meteorites— each inscribed with a Luna Letter on its side started to rain down on Woodward and Akko.

Akko screamed out but Woodward remained calm. She lifted her right arm and channeled multiple large tree roots to sprout off the ground. Like spears thrown by powerful warriors, the roots fired out of the earth and struck the meteorites before they could even touch the ground. And in under a minute, the meteorites were broken into pieces and their fragments floated down softly to the earth like a beautiful shower of glowing orange light.

Merlin growled that his attack was unsuccessful, but was far from giving up. He takes up the spear and slashes the very air. A portal appears, releasing multiple gray arms, each of them letting out a disgusting murmur.

"Those are the elves!" Akko shouted. "B-but you said he can't do that curse to you right?"

"Yes…but those elves could erase me."

Woodward revealed the truth of her vulnerability which made Akko panic greatly.

"A-are you kidding me!? M-make sure those gross hands don't touch you!"

"That was the plan from the beginning, Atsuko Kagari."

A thousand— no, a million of the elf hands stormed to the ground and charged at the two witches as if they were snakes eager to devour. Woodward however, was like a paper bag in the wind. She was fluid in her motions and the hands could never reach her as she avoided every approach. It was like a wild roller coaster with Akko as the unlucky passenger, screaming and crying.

After four minutes of dodging, Woodward landed back to the ground and stared up at Merlin.

"Did you truly think that would work…Master Merlin?"

It was visible. The throbbing vein of Merlin's head seemed ready to pop.

"How dare you call me master…I don't even want to hear that word come out of your mouth you traitorous harlot!"

"Harlot? Such harsh words. And I had nothing but love and admiration for you."

"Love and admiration…silence yourself succubus! I know your heart…"

"H-hey! Ghost Lady— below you!"

"Hm?"

Woodward then left five sharp needles pierced into the pale skin of her ankle. She looked down to see one of the elf's hands grabbing onto her. The moment that happened, the light of her body began to fade and her flesh started to rought. Woodward started to lose her breathing and fell to her knees.

"N-no!" Akko yelled. "Please don't give up!"

Merlin cackled proudly.

"And the fate of the world has chosen your demise! Now you only have one destination, lost spirit— the lower levels of Hell itself!"

Woodward slowly lifted her head to Merlin, despite the weakness in her face, her eyes still shone with the strength that the old vampire loathed.

"Don't underestimate me, you demon. Have you forgotten that I have made a pact with the Earth as well? Some parts of the planet indeed wish for Fantasia's success, but others wish the opposite…"

"What do you—"

BOOM!

Destroying the barrier and flying around the atmosphere were four colors: red, green, orange, and blue. The colors came into view and took the appearance of four young girls, but they were not human at first glance. Their ears were long and their hair was made up of leaves. One of them was quite tall with green leaves for hair, bangs covered her eyes. One was incredibly short with long black hair, she carried a very mean expression. Another looked quite fit, with dark blue hair, and wore a confident expression. And the final one was a girl with short red hair and red eyes with black crosses for irises.

Akko recognized the four girls despite their slightly different appearance. They were students from a rival school who once challenged Luna Nova to a broom relay. The race ended in the victory of Akko herself crossing the finish line thanks to the Shiny Rod and the aid of Diana.

"Miraj! Foln! Aul! Chilby!"

The four girls— who in truth were dryads— turned to Akko and Woodward.

"Hey Akko! Long time no see!" Miraj said with a wave. "Hm…did you lose weight?"

"It seems you are fighting a pretty strong enemy this time, Woodward," the rough voice of Aul spoke aloud. "Even after your death you still cause us trouble."

"I apologize," Woodward replied. "But please keep him at bay."

"Can't we just kill him?" Foln asked the other dryads.

Chilby shook her head.

"Don't be a fool, Foln! Can't you feel the amazing pressure of his mana? Killing a creature like that will be impossible…but still, that power seems to be…incomplete. Is that the right word?"

"Yes," Woodward nodded. "Please give us time."

"Alright!"

The four dryads came together and started to sing a beautiful song. The vibrations of the melody repel the arms of the elves, even the elf that was attached to Woodward had lost its grip.

"Cool!" Akko shouted in amazement.

Then as the song continued, mighty trees with gorgeous green and brown leaves sprouted from the dirt. They covered everything and even blocked the view of Merlin. The mansion was in shambles, not even a fragment of what it once was remained as an entire forest sprouted in its place.

"Now is our chance."

Woodward held onto Akko tightly and flew away. Some of the zombies of the mansion ran after them, but the Spirit of the Nine Olde Witch was too fast for the corpses to keep up. And then, she and the young witch were out of sight. Gone from the forest as if they never existed.

"NOOO!"

The screams of Merlin were enough to knock down all the trees that stood in his past, but nothing remained of his home. The four dryads had also disappeared along with his two targets. The old wizard was fuming as he floated down to the floor.

"Damn…even though she's dead she is still a pain in the ass."

Crawling towards Merlin was the upper half of Lilith.

"Sorry. I just woke up a few minutes ago. Hrunting hurt more than I thought! And I can't find it!"

"...Vivian— no…Woodward must of taken it…"

"What will do about Kagari?"

"...She knows about our plan. And knowing her personality, she may try to stop us. We will get the chance to redeem ourselves for this failure."

"But what if she does decide to run."

"...Contact the others. Tell them what has happened here. And tell Annabelle to go to Japan."

"Huh? Why?"

Merlin stared down at Lilith, wearing an extremely vile smile that even made Lilith shiver.

"We know where the Kagaris live do we not?"

Meanwhile, Akko and Woodward through the cities of Transylvania. The sun had set a while ago and night had completely ensnared the world. The Spirit of Woodward finally stopped behind a dark alley where there was no one present but the stray cats and trash.

"Atsuko Kagari, your body should be healed about now."

"Let me see…"

Woodward dropped the head of Akko to the street ground and instantly the rest of Akko's body regenerated. The girl was now back to her normal human form, and all usual scars and aches returned.

"Yes! Got my arms and legs back…wait a minute…"

Akko looked down and realized that her clothes were nonexistent.

"Heh…no wonder it felt so cold."

"Here."

Woodward then waved her hands and created a cloak made of leaves. She handed it to Akko who quickly covered herself.

"Thank you!" Akko replied. "I don't want people to think I'm streaking…it's a little itchy though."

"Enough about that," Woodward commented, her face being nothing but serious. "Listen to me, Atsuko Kagari. We must stop the Fantasia Melody at all costs."

Author's Note:

For all those who don't know, those four girls are characters who appeared in the last chapters of the LWA manga made by Keisuke Sato. They are dryads and they play the role of Woodward's familiars. Thank you so much for helping me out as always Angry9guy! I hope you guys are looking forward to what Woodward and Akko are cooking for the next chapter. Also please go check out Angry9guy's channel.

Angry9guy and Jaytia high-five before Angry9guy jumps into a pipe

Please check out my own original web novel, "The Branded Hero Volume 1: Baxter the Failure". The tale of a hero who has been outcasted by the world since releasing The Demon King: /episode/3206367

And please check out my webcomic, "The Curse of Gringerfield" on Webtoon and Tapas!

Webtoon: en/canvas/the-curse-of-gringerfield/list?title_no=970667

Tapas: /series/The-Curse-of-Gringerfield/info

Next Chapter: Yūto Minazuki